


He was beautiful

by Lewis_H



Series: Umbrella Academy One-Shots [1]
Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-03
Updated: 2019-03-03
Packaged: 2019-11-08 08:19:56
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 992
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17977721
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lewis_H/pseuds/Lewis_H
Summary: Slight AU, just after Klaus returns to the present day, he makes his way back to the academy and enters the building just in time to crash family meeting between Luther, Diego, Allison and Five.





	He was beautiful

The telltale creaking of the gates and slam of the door was what first alerted the four of them to the arrival of their brother as he trudged into the entrance-way, eyes unseeing and bloodied hands shaking. “Shit! Klaus are you okay? What happened?” Diego was at his side in an instant, gripping his arms and steadying his swaying balance. Klaus said nothing, barely even reacting to the questions that were thrown in his direction, simply walking into the lounge and slowly lowering himself onto the sofa. The shaking in his hands had began to dissipate but the nausea remained as he opened his mouth, trying to respond, but to no avail.

Five looked up from where he sat, taking in the sight of his brother, the sweat that glistened on his skin, the way he shivered and the clear signs of a killer headache. He’d recognise those symptoms anywhere.

“Aw fuck, I think I know what happened to him.” Five walked past Luther and Allison who had taken to standing slightly back from the sofa, trying not to get in the way. “What? What is it?” Allison whispered, concern dripping from her words. Five knelt in front of his brother, taking in the despondent look that marred his usually jovial features. “You stole their briefcase didn’t you?”. A slight nod. “How long were you gone?”. Klaus slowly raised his eyes to look into the eyes his siblings, one by one, “almost a year” he mumbled before resting his head on the back of the sofa and staring blankly at the wall opposite him.

At the confused expressions of the other three, Five did his best to explain how the briefcase that Cha-Cha and Hazel had with them allowed them to hop from one timeline to another, eliminating threats, and that their brother, who as they turned and looked at him, now had silent tears rolling down his face, had clearly travelled by accident. Klaus, upon realising that the attention was now on him again, attempted to wipe away the tears that tracked down his face, leaving red blotchy marks in their wake. “Where did you end up?” Diego tried to ask softly but his concern and anger towards whoever had hurt his brother creeped into his voice no matter how hard he tried.

“Vietnam, 1968”

A chorus of curses filled the room as the siblings put together the puzzle pieces of what happened to Klaus, the dog tags around his neck, the new tattoo, the clothes, the bags around his eyes and the blood that covered his hands and other parts of his body. 

Their brother fought in a war.

The shaking in his hands had now gone completely and Klaus decided that he was strong enough to stand, and stumbled forward before finding his balance and making his way towards the doorway.

“Where the hell do you think you’re going?”

Klaus turned to look Diego in the eye.

“To get high.”

There was an emptiness in his eyes that they all knew far too well. He turned to leave.

“What was her name?”

Diego’s voice broke the silence and stopped Klaus dead in his tracks. He turned to look at his siblings once more as they waited for his response, a small wistful smile cracked across his lips as he was cast into his memories.

“His name was Dave.” 

“Tell me about him”

Klaus looked at his brothers and sisters, and for the first time in his life felt like they truly cared about what he was about to say. His vision blurred as the memories of the man he loved flooded his mind, his smile, his laugh, his bravery in battle, his sensitivity when alone. Tears flowed freely down his face as sigh left his parted lips.

“He was kind, and strong, and beautiful”

he paused, looking distantly ahead of him as the thought of the man he loved. 

“Beautiful.” he reiterated with a smile. In an instant the smile slipped from his face, once again replaced by an apathetic gaze. “And I was foolish enough to follow him all the way to the front line.”

And with that, Klaus turned and began to walk away, intent on taking anything to numb himself, eyes cast down and staring at his feet as he made his way to the stairs before bumping into Five who had decided to block his path.

“Just leave me alone guys” He tried to sidestep around Five but the boy was too fast.

“Look, Klaus, I may have never met him, but do you think Dave would want you to do this? I mean, you’re clearly sober right now, and I don’t know for how long, but you can’t give up now. You’ve fought a war for fucks sake! And I’m sorry, I truly am, but if you don’t help us, we have no chance at all, we need everyone to work together if we want any possibility of surviving the week.”

Klaus looked around at his family, the pleading and concerned looks on their faces. Breathing in deeply through his nose, he looked up at the ceiling, pulling himself back together and steeling himself for what the next few days will hold. He let out a soft exhale.

“Let me have a bath whilst you guys plan what’s gonna go down, alright? I’ll be back down here in an hour.” he made his way to the top of the stairs before shouting back, “Allison, I’m wearing that skirt again, where is it?”

She chuckled softly. “It’s in the bottom drawer. You can have it, it looks better on you anyway.”

He looked back at her with a small smile, “why Danke, I thought the exact same thing.” he responded with a wink, before disappearing into the depths of the house.

He can do this, he just has to take it a day at a time. Now where had he put his studded leather jacket?

**Author's Note:**

> This was my first ever fic so please let me know what you thought and how i can improve!
> 
> Thanks :D


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